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Peyton Manning casts a tall shadow. A shadow that stretches far beyond his athletic achievements on the football field and jumps into your living room by way of his latest TV commercial. Like him or hate him, he is an American icon. He is the quintessential thinking man's quarterback, a field general with the intelligence, poise and ability to lead his team into the playoffs year after year. Along the way Peyton has picked up his fair share of records and awards. He has to his credit, league MVP awards, a Super Bowl MVP, and a Super Bowl title. If Manning walked away from the game of football right now, he would be a first ballot Hall of Famer without question.

Then there's Eli Manning, who will forever be known as "Peyton's younger brother." Unfair? Sure, but when your older brother is considered by many to be the best quarterback in the NFL, it is a title you better learn to live with. Not that the younger Manning is devoid of the talents and skills to be a good if not great quarterback in his own right. A prolific collegiate passer at Ole Miss, Eli went on to throw for more than 10,000 yards in his college career, and picked up a Maxwell Award and the Johnny Unites Golden Arm Award during his senior year. Then like Peyton before him, he too was a first pick overall in the NFL draft.

Some critics will say that is where the similarities end, that Eli, unlike Peyton has been slow to develop. There are those that say that he won't stand in the pocket and take a hit when trying to pass, while others point to his low completion rate over the first few years of his career as signs that he has yet to come of age. Those critical of Eli in this fashion need to be reminded that Peyton himself had his share of critics early on. For a while there were those who said that Peyton would never win the big game, others pointed to the amount of interception he threw over his first few seasons as a sign that he forced passes into coverage way too often.

Despite his detractors, Eli seems on the verge of turning a corner in his career this year. His last game of the 2007, against the undefeated Patriots, showcased some of his talents. Against the best team in the NFL, Eli had perhaps his best game of the season, one in which he threw for four touchdown passes, completing 22 out of 35 passes in route. He followed up that game with a well played playoff win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week. If he continues to improve at this rate, it will not be long before he can shake the criticism that has plagued him throughout his NFL career.

Yet, no matter what he does on the field, it seems that his older brother manages to stay a step or two ahead of him on the field. A this point in his career nothing short of a Super Bowl victory or two will bring Eli out from under Peyton's shadow. And least we forget that his dad Archie was also a good quarterback in his own right, it looks like at least for now that Eli will have a long row to hoe before he becomes anything but the third best quarterback in the family. Here's hoping that the rest of the 2007 playoffs and the 2008 season bring Eli a little further out from Peyton's shadow.

Learn more about this author, Rolando Cruz.
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